NOX - Dine in the Dark is more than a gimmick

At the newly-reopened restaurant, you'll find good food and meaningful conversations to be had.

Nox is a restaurant more famously known for its concept than its food. First opened all the way back in 2013, the restaurant touts itself as a sensory experience, with one caveat: Patrons would dine in pitch blackness. The restaurant is staffed by visually-impaired waiters, who are on hand to guide you through the experience. The newly-reopened restaurant emerged from its post-pandemic torpor earlier this year, and has brought with it a refreshed tasting menu and a list of cocktails crafted by Sam Wong, a Diageo World Class finalist and bartender from Ah Sam Cold Drink Stall.

First, a disclaimer: Nox is not a restaurant for the faint-of-heart. You'll spend some two hours in a dining room so dark that you can't see your own hand an inch from your eyes: It's a novel, almost claustrophobic feeling that takes a while to get used to. As our cheery waiter chirped: "Keep breathing!"

You'll start with a round of opening cocktails in the plush main lounge — we recommend the delectable Kwai Fei cocktail, with features lychee liqueur and fresh grapefruit juice, as well as the very Instagrammable Please Burst My Bubbles, whose earl grey-infused gin makes for a winning combination. After that, you'll be whisked off into the main dining room by one of Nox's wonderfully friendly waiters. As we made our way to the pitch-black dining room in a conga line, Bernard, our waiter for the night, remarked brightly: "Now this is like the blind leading the blind!"

A meal at Nox is broken down into three courses, with four dishes in each course for a total of 12 dishes. The menus at Nox change every few weeks to keep things fresh; general manager Eugene Lim said that the restaurant has a loyal following that often returns to try the updated dishes. There's almost a game-like element to the meal. Each course is served on a platter with four bowls. You're left to fumble on the table for your cutlery and guess what exactly it is you're eating. Nox bills its fare as modern European meets local favourites: On the night we visited, there was a tender lamb dish with none of the protein's usual gamey aftertaste, and a piquant, spiced fish stew laden with aromatic herbs.

What really sets Nox apart is the restaurant's unique concept. Its visually-impaired staff are warm and open and more than willing to share stories about what its like to be blind in Singapore: After our meal, Bernard shared what it was like when he woke up one day and completely lost his vision. ("For a while, my closest friends were called Jack and Daniel!" he says, brightly.) The former drama teacher describes what it was like rebuilding his life at the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, and how he eventually adapted to his new life. Today, Bernard has even returned to competitive dragon boating, having competed at the national level in his youth.

At the end of the meal, the restaurant's general manager sat down with us in the (fully-lit) main lounge for the big unveil, going through each dish that was served earlier. There are surprising touches and playful fake outs, like vegetables cut to resemble proteins, and vice versa. The conversation shifts to the restaurant's broader concept. Eugene says he's been with the restaurant for a long time, and that he — like many others — came in with the notion that places like Nox are doing the visually-impaired a "favour". But having seen how his colleagues have relearnt the world around them, and the positivity they have, has changed him completely. He adds: "Everyday, when I come to work, I'm so humbled."